Korea National Opera Celebrates its 50th Anniversary with a Year-end Gala

This beautiful and powerful song is, "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" from Verdi's opera "Nabucco",. and it is one of the most famous choruses in opera.
It is part of the program of this year's year-end opera gala by the Korea National Opera, which will be presented four times this weekend.
The Korea National Opera has been presenting its year-end gala since 1991, and it has become a popular event for opera fans here in Korea,.. as it offers highlights from the previous season and a preview of the season to come.
However, this year's gala will be even more special, as the National Opera is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
The program for the gala includes music from the original contemporary Korean opera "Chung", which is based on the traditional Korean folktale of "Shimchung".
One of the featured performers is beloved pansori master Ahn Sook-seon. She will sing pansori, the traditional narrative singing style that first set the "Shimchung" story to music.

[Interview : Ahn Sook-seon, Pansori Master] "Music doesn't have any borders or boundaries and at its essence, it expresses the diverse emotions and events that happen in our lives. In other words, music is about people, therefore,.. people who speak different languages or are from different culture can all come together through music".

The production of "Chung" also contains elements of ballet.
Renowned Korean ballerina, Kim Joo-won,.. who was a principal dancer with the Korean National Ballet for more than a decade, plays the title character in a ballet solo that is a physical expression of the character's emotions.


[Interview : Kim Joo-won, Ballerina] "Most works are about love, but 'Chung' is about filial piety, which is central to Korean beliefs. I can identify with that because I am Korean, too".

This gala also give audiences a preview of the next season.
As 2013 marks the 200th anniversaries of the births of two major opera composers, Verdi and Wagner, the program includes Verdi's "Nabucco" and Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman".
Park Ji-won, Arirang News.

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Reporter : jiwonpark@arirang.co.kr